Local News in Brief : New Container Recycling Plan

An advisory committee to the state Department of Conservation voted Monday to recommend that newly certified recyclers in California be required to accept glass, plastic and aluminum beverage containers.

At a meeting in Vernon, members of the state’s Beverage Container Recycling Advisory Committee voted for the measure despite complaints from some aluminum recyclers that glass and plastic are not valuable enough to collect.

“I personally believe that they should take all containers because that’s the spirit of the law,” committee Chairman Peter Whited said after the vote.

Although Monday’s advisory committee vote has no legal force, similar provisions are included in a bill passed by the state Senate, which is expected to reach the Assembly floor today or Wednesday.

Current state law allows certified recyclers to accept whatever material they want--usually aluminum cans, which have the highest scrap value. Under the new bill, recyclers would have to accept all three types of containers to receive money from the state’s beverage container recycling fund. The fund pays one cent for each container.